DALLAS, Texas, December 5, 2013 – The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is pleased to announce the first round of international team invitations for the U17 bracket of the 2014 tournament. Continuing with its decades-long tradition of hosting the best teams from around the globe, the Dallas Cup has extended the first seven international U17 age group invitations to clubs hailing from five different countries.

“The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup continues to set the standard for international competition in youth soccer tournaments,” said Andy Swift, the tournament’s Executive Director. “This year’s U17 bracket, with the quality and diversity of the international clubs, combined with yet another extremely talented group of teams from the United States, is shaping up to be one of the strongest and most competitive in many, many years.”

Headlining the U17 group are three professional Mexican clubs, a Dallas Cup U17 bracket first. Club America, UANL Tigres, and CF Monterrey Rayados will be sending their U17 teams to Dallas to compete in the 2014 tournament. CF Monterrey will be fielding the same team that won the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup 2013 U16 Championship this past March. All three teams were playoff quarterfinalists in the recently concluded Mexican U17 Apertura season, with Tigres and Club America advancing to the semifinals. The eventual winner, CD Guadalajara, will compete next year in the Dr Pepper Gordon Jago Super Group.

In addition to the Mexican contingent, the U17 age group will have teams from four different continents, all competing with their own unique style of soccer. German side FC Astoria Walldorf, Club Deportivo ASES from Colombia, and the Gold Coast Knights from Australia will join the Puerto Rican U17 National Team in one of the most competitive and diverse U17 brackets in Dallas Cup history.

The remaining international U17 participants, along with the invited teams from the United States, will be announced in the coming weeks. Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXV will take place from April 13th through April 20th, 2014.

About Dr Pepper Dallas Cup: Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is the oldest and most prestigious international youth soccer tournament in the United States and will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2014. Dallas Cup consists of seven age groups from U13 to U19 and entertains on average more than 100,000 spectators during the week. Since its inception in 1980, Dallas Cup has hosted teams and referees from 47 states, 100 countries and 6 continents. Follow Dallas Cup on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram.